The Choice
by HowlWind
Summary: *VAGUE SPOILERS FOR S03E09 - THE SUICIDE KING* Merle can't come back to the prison, and Rick can't stand to see Daryl leave. Daryl is left with a very important choice to make.


It came down to this- a choice. They'd escaped the Governor (for now) and run straight into another mess. Who was coming back with them to the prison?

Rick jerked his head in Michonne's direction. "She's too unpredictable."

"That's right, we don't know who she is" Daryl spoke up. "Merle- Merle's blood."

Glenn retorted angrily: "No- Merle's _your_ blood. My blood, my family, is standing right here- and waiting for us back at the prison."

"And you're part of that family. He's not." Rick looked Daryl dead in the eyes as he said this.

After a tense second, Daryl looked down. He felt the truth of that statement, but some part of him was still loyal to his brother. "Fine. We'll fend for ourselves."

Glenn and Maggie immediately threw a fit, telling him that he needed to come with them. It was hard to focus on what they were saying with Rick just… _staring_ at him like that. His eyes bore into him, smoldering.

"What do you want us to tell Carol?"

"She'll understand." Unable to stand the look of betrayal on his friends' faces anymore, the redneck nodded at them and started to walk away.

Rick followed immediately. Once they were out of earshot of the others, he grabbed Daryl's shoulder, forcing him to stop. "Daryl."

He swung around. "What?" His heart stuttered as he met Rick's anguished gaze.

"There's gotta be another way."

Daryl looked away. "Rick, I left him once. I can't do it again."

"So what? You'll leave us instead? We need you, man. The group relies on you, and so do I. We've built something here, something real. A real family. You really gonna give that up for Merle? You gotta think about this, please."

"He's my brother, Rick. I'm all he's got left." Nothing had ever been this hard. Daryl felt like he was stabbing Rick in the back, and it affected him more deeply than he was willing to admit to himself.

" Daryl… I… I need you." His voice broke. "Please. Please."

Daryl started to shake his head and went to protest before Rick interrupted him: "I can't do this alone again. I just can't." The words started to spill out of the former sheriff's mouth in an uncontrolled torrent. "It's not just me and mine I'm looking after anymore, it's everyone. We got a one-legged man, children, _an infant_, Daryl. A baby. And I'm the one they're gonna look to for answers. Just like the before, I'll be the only one trying to save us all. I can't… It's too much to do alone. You're the only thing keeping me sane these days, man. I can't do it without you. Please. Don't leave me." He grabbed Daryl's hands in his own.

Daryl stared at him in complete shock. He wasn't expecting this at all, to see Rick so... Broken.

"Rick, I…"

"Just don't fuckin' say it. Don't say you're leavin'. You're the only one I can depend on. If you're gone, what do I have left?" Rick's voice cracked, and his shoulders began to shake as he struggled to keep control of himself. "Who am I going to lean on? You're my best friend. My comrade."

Daryl grimaced, feeling his heart twist inside his chest. "You got your boy. Hershel. Glenn. It'll be fine. It has to be."

"I just can't do it alone anymore." Tears began to run down his face, leaving tracks in the dirt and grime that coated it.

Whatever resolve Daryl had left crumpled. Abruptly, he pulled Rick to his chest and wrapped his arms around the man. Rick grabbed at him like a drowning man trying to pull himself from the abyss. They clung to each other, oblivious of the others watching their emotional exchange.

"Please." Rick repeated again, his face buried in the side of Daryl's neck. He smelled like cordite and blood. "Please…"

Daryl held him tighter. "It's okay, Rick. It's gonna be okay. I'll stay. Me and Merle, we'll… We'll work things out. I'll stay."

Rick pulled away, wiping his face on his shirt to clear away the tears. "Daryl, I-"

Daryl shook his head. "No more words. You got what you wanted, I'm staying. Now let me go fight it out with my brother, he ain't gonna go-"

He was cut short when Rick pushed him against their vehicle roughly. Daryl opened his mouth in shock, only to have it covered by Rick's own. Their lips meshed together and the world shrank to encompass only the two of them. Daryl was vaguely aware of shouting in the background, but all he could focus on was the feeling of Rick's lips pressed to his own. The shared taste of sweat and blood, Rick's hand buried in the hair at the nape of his neck, his own hand pressed to the small of the sheriff's back.

When they finally broke apart, both men were breathing harshly. Their eyes met again, and this time it was filled with a very different emotion than betrayal.

"You go talk to him. But you come back to me, okay?"

Daryl grabbed the back of Rick's head and brought him close, pressing their foreheads together.

"Always."


End file.
